Ted Dexter and the chequered past of cricketers in the world of politics | Andy Bull | Sport | The Guardian The Spin Ted Dexter and the chequered past of cricketers in the world of politics Amid the flurry of sporting figures weighing in on the EU referendum, a look at Lord Ted’s 1964 campaign in Cardiff South-East, where he faced James Callaghan The former England cricket captain Ted Dexter, left, strategising during his campaign to become an MP in 1964. Photograph: PA Wednesday 22 June 2016 05.51 EDT Last modified on Wednesday 22 June 2016 06.25 EDT Close The ins and outs of cricket politics So David Beckham is in . Sol Campbell is out. Rio Ferdinand is in. So is Rory Best. And Joey Barton. And Arsène Wenger. And Bobby George. But James Cracknell is out. As, of course, is old Iron Bottom himself , Sir Ian Botham, who seems to have been the only cricketer who has blessed us with his opinion.

He appears to have given the matter just as much thought as he used to put into his bowling plans – “In the end we gave up on team meetings,” said Botham’s team-mate Phil Neale, “because he just wanted to bounce them all out.” Botham’s contribution to the debate has included the choice observations: “Personally, I think that England is an island” and “I think that England should be England. And I think that we should keep that.” England’s Liam Plunkett hits last ball for six for ODI tie against Sri Lanka Read more Of course Botham is a blowhard, and if you expected anything else you’ll be equally surprised to find that the scorpion stings the frog. But his is only one in an entertaining occasional series of interventions by English cricketers. While there have been many fine things done in private by players with strong political consciences – think of Botham’s mentor Tom Cartwright, who is said to have feigned an injury so he could withdraw from a tour to South Africa in 1968, or Botham’s own refusal to join the rebel tour in ‘82 – public pronouncements rarely seem to have worked out so well.

Especially, it has to be said, when they’ve come from the right end of the political spectrum. Call it the Dexter effect. Of all the many ventures of “Lord Ted”, few can have been quite so bold as his decision to run for parliament. And this is a man who apparently decided to marry his wife on first sight, served in the army during the Malayan Emergency, invested heavily in horses and greyhounds, considered switching careers from cricket to golf, piloted himself and his family 12,000 miles to Australia in a Piper Aztec, co-wrote two sports-themed murder mysteries, Testkill and Deadly Putter, penned the inspirational hymn Onward Gower’s Soldiers while he was serving as chair of selectors, concocted the international player rankings, and once launched a competition to find England’s next fast bowler by sending recruitment forms out to pubs around the country. When Dexter was 29 he stood as the Tory candidate in Cardiff South-East at the 1964 general election.

Educated at Radley and Cambridge, Dexter was conspicuously out of place among what was then a community of dockers and factory workers, perhaps only a little less so than Jacob Rees-Mogg must have been when he took his Mercedes on the campaign trail in central Fife three decades years later. Dexter, who was England captain, ruled himself out of the winter tour to South Africa on the grounds that he expected to win the election. “I’m not just a gimmick”, he said after being selected. Though the chairman of the local Conservative Association is supposed to have told him in private: “We need a candidate who is well known. You won’t win, but we need help.” Dexter’s opponent was James Callaghan, then serving as Labour’s shadow chancellor. Callaghan had held the seat since the constituency was created in 1950. When Dexter’s candidacy was announced, John Charles had just signed to play for Cardiff City. Callaghan noted dryly: “Mr Dexter is the second sportsman to arrive in Cardiff this week.

I think John Charles is likely to prove the better investment.” On the stump, Dexter is supposed to have told one audience that they should consider sending their sons to Eton, on the grounds that it didn’t only qualify children for careers in politics and merchant banking, but that he personally knew several Old Etonians who had gone on to be “racing correspondents and bookmakers”. Another of his speeches included some odd remarks about how Labour-voting households could be identified by their “grubby lace curtains and unwashed milk bottles on the doorstep”. Dexter’s rhetoric didn’t play well. Callaghan increased his majority from 868 to just under 8,000. So Dexter decided he was free to tour after all, and travelled to South Africa as MJK Smith’s vice-captain, where he made 344 runs in seven Test innings, at an average of 57. Sadly for political sketch writers, we’ve hardly seen a cricketer stand for office since, though Robin Marlar did run in the Newbury by-election for the Referendum party in 1993. He won 338 votes, lost his deposit, and was beaten into ninth place by Screaming Lord Sutch.

Marlar did pip the recently-retired dominatrix Lindi St Clair, aka Miss Whiplash, aka Lily Lavender, who finished 11th with 170. Since then, well, David Cameron is supposed to have once rung Darren Gough and asked him to stand in Barnsley . Gough assumed it was a prank call and hung up the phone. And there was a swirl of rumours that Andrew Strauss was going to stand when he quit playing for England. The bookies cut the odds as short as 16-1. If it ever was an option, Strauss seems to have soon thought better of it. All in all, then, and allowing for the fact you can compose an entire XI of Victorian parliamentarians who knew how to handle a bat and that Alec Douglas-Home had a first class bowling average of 30 , our politicians have tended to make better cricketers than our cricketers have politicians. Odd thing is, the result of this referendum could have a considerable impact on English cricket, in that a vote to leave may well mean the end of the Kolpak rule, which allows citizens of countries that have signed EU Association Agreements the same freedom of work as EU citizens themselves.

It might also mean the end of the Cotonou Agreement, which makes a similar thing possible for citizens from certain African and Caribbean nations. If you’re still undecided at this late stage, then, it may be worth asking yourself if you want to see that Trinidadian quick turn out for your team at the local county ground again next season. Unless you happen to be stuck in the Second XI behind that old South African all-rounder, I suppose, in which case, best side with Botham. Ted Dexter | England Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPN Cricinfo Profile Wisden overview There was no more exhilarating sight in English cricket than Ted Dexter when he was savaging fast bowling. Though he had the patience and technique to develop a long innings or fight a rearguard action according to the position of a match - six of his nine Test hundreds were bigger than 140 - it was the naked power of his driving on the counter-attack that fired the imagination.

An athletic six-footer with something of the feline grace and strength of the golfer Tiger Woods, Dexter's most famous innings was the 70 he smashed, from 73 balls, off Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith, after coming in when England were 0 for 1 in the 1963 Lord's against West Indies. In county cricket, Dexter was the only batsman who habitually dominated Derek Underwood, regularly scoring hundreds for Sussex against Kent. In 1968, on his first Championship appearance after two years of semi-retirement, he blasted them for a devastating 203 which immediately won him back his Test place. Dexter was a magnificent allround games player. His next-best game was golf - he won the Oxford & Cambridge President's Putter three times, the last time at the age of 52 - and he was arguably the leading cricketer-golfer Britain has ever produced. Early retirement gave "Lord Ted" scope to turn his restless mind to many interests, among them forming a PR company and covering cricket as a broadcaster and writer.

In 1989 a new cricket post in cricket was created for him, the chairmanship of the "England Committee", for which he did much important groundwork for the future. But in his twin role as chairman of selectors, his judgment let him down. A sequence of glaring mistakes, culminating in the omission of David Gower and Jack Russell from Graham Gooch's 1992-93 touring team to India, led to Dexter's resignation in 1993 after Australia thrashed England for the third time in successive Ashes series. John Thicknesse Latest Articles Ted Dexter: One of the most colourful characters to grace English cricket - Cricket Country › Ted Dexter: One of the most colourful characters to grace English cricket Ted Dexter was one of the most fascinating characters of English cricket with fearless strokeplay, dashing image and debonair attitude. | Updated : May 15, 2016 2:22 PM IST Ted Dexter: a truly multi-faceted personality © Getty Images Ted Dexter, born May 15, 1935, was one of the most fascinating characters of English cricket with fearless stroke-play, dashing image and debonair attitude.

Arunabha Sengupta looks back at the life and career of the man who was at his very best against high quality fast bowling, and was further characterised by his love for life, specifically golf, racehorses and bikes. The inimitable Lord Ted Few cricketers have tickled the fantasy of onlookers with their absolute nonchalance against fast bowling as did Ted Dexter . The balls came at him at furious speed — hurled by Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith , propelled across by Alan Davidson and Graham McKenzie. And Dexter stood tall, with feline grace and raw power, and drove them back, treating the bowling with a disdain it seldom deserved. Who can forget the Lord’s Test of 1963 — one of the greatest ever played. With Hall and Griffith charging in, England lost John Edrich for a duck, without a run on the board. Captain Dexter walked out to face the world’s most feared pair of bowlers bowling at their fastest. And he proceeded to hook, cut and essay those thundering drives, in a scintillating display of audacity.

When Garry Sobers trapped him leg before, Dexter had raced to 70 from 75 balls, out of a total of 102. Dexter often batted like the cavalier amateur of the old school, delighting the spectators and often bruising the hands of the fielders with his enormously powerful drives and cuts. And like the true romantic among batsmen he could often succumb to the bowling due to his absolute refusal to treat even the best with any semblance of respect. It was breath-taking, brilliant and could be frustrating. When he was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1961, the Almanac noted: “Few batsmen announce themselves as Dexter did when batting for Sussex against Surrey at The Oval last summer. His first ball, from the pavilion end, was slightly over-pitched on middle and leg. Feet moved fractionally, head hardly at all, but the bat swung the ball for six over long-leg and they fetched it back from the seats under the gasholder.” However, he was no mere dasher. Five of his nine hundreds in Test cricket turned out to be over 150.

The Australians, following their perennial penchant for mockery, did not take him too seriously before he batted almost six hours at Birmingham to save the Test with an impeccable innings of 180. Later, as captain, he took 93 and 52 off them at Melbourne in the course of a memorable Test victory, which he recounted later as his most satisfying knocks. Dexter could be superb against spin as well. He was perhaps the only English batsman to have mastered Derek Underwood , scoring heavily against the left arm spinner when Sussex played Kent. He was a thinker too. Fred Trueman recalled that Dexter as captain had more theories than Charles Darwin. As captain of Sussex, he adapted to the novelty of the one-day game with remarkable ease, establishing fielding positions that were original and effective. Perhaps Dexter had the biggest influence in the development of the modern game. Yet, when things did not happen on the field, and one or two striking moves did not pay off, Dexter was known to get bored. He switched off, standing in the field, practicing his golf swings. Yes, he was a scratch golfer, and went on to write books about golfing techniques.

During the 1962-63 tour of Australia, he played a foursome with Norman Von Nida, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, while Colin Cowdrey acted as his caddy. The professionals were impressed enough to offer a trip to America to become a tournament golfer. Besides, he had a passion for speed — with motor bikes, jaguars, greyhounds and race horses. He used to carry a portable television, then a rare commodity in those days, to watch races in dressing rooms. Once he declared a Sussex innings from the Brighton Racecourse. Perhaps it was his impatience and lack of focus, that strain of the amateur that kept him from becoming one of the best captains of England. But, whenever one saw him in the field, batting with his sublime mix of grace and strength, bowling the often effective medium-paced swing, cutting off strokes at cover-point or merely standing there in his flannels, with his blue cap perched on his head, on the green field under the English sun, one could not help being charmed by the aristocratic bearing. No wonder he was named ‘Lord Ted’.

From Milan to Malay to Paris to Melbourne Edward Ralph Dexter was born in Milan, Italy, where his father was a businessman. He was merely three, when, along with his many siblings, he was taken to England as the Second World War was about to break out. His parents returned to Milan to close shop, and just about managed to squeeze out on the last boat, with one suitcase between them which they had to leave in Nice, to collect at the end of the War. His father, Major RM Dexter, had served in the First World War and was too old to join action in the second worldwide mayhem. However, being fluent in Italian, he was drafted as an intelligence officer. He worked in Scotland, Ireland and Wales, and little Dexter hopped from school to school before settling down in Radley. Initially a wicket-keeper and later captain of the first eleven, Dexter was drafted for National Service as second lieutenant and served during the Malayan Emergency in 1956-57. He later recalled those days with a sense of nostalgia, tinged with a flavour of adventure and free spirit, the period when he overcame his constant attacks of hay-fever. Returning to England, he enrolled in Jesus College, Cambridge.

He earned his Blues in cricket, developed lifelong passion for golf and also played a lot of rugby, but, in the end, he failed to obtain a degree. Yet, he looked back at the period as days well spent, since it was cricket and golf which took him places and helped him earn a living. Dexter made his First-Class debut for Cambridge University, playing against a Surrey attack of Peter Loader, Jim Laker , Tony Lock and Eric Bedser. His second match was against Yorkshire and he ended up facing Fred Trueman , Johnny Wardle and Bob Appleyard. And in his third game, he was pitted against the bowling of Brian Statham and Roy Tattersall of Lancashire. County cricket was a tough affair in those days. He spent his holidays playing golf in Italy, and for a while it did look as if the drives would continue to rain on the stationary ball, but finally cricket won through. Born in Italy, Dexter could play for any county, and ultimately it was Sussex who successfully wooed him. The wicket at Hove suited his medium pace, and on occasions it was good enough to post good scores.

Ted Dexter kisses fiancee Susan Longfield at the London Airport before embarking on the 1958 MCC tour of Australia © Getty Images Dexter made his Test debut against New Zealand at Old Trafford in 1958, and launched a fierce counter-attack alongside skipper Peter May. He struck 6 fours and 2 sixes in his quick 52, and added 82 with May as England cruised to an innings win. Unfortunately, the selectors had already decided on the team to travel to Australia that winter, and Dexter was not in it. EW Swanton, rooting for his selection, disclosed that Dexter’s omission had prompted a correspondent to write to him calling the selectors, “Blind fools, triple bandaged moles.” While at Cambridge, Dexter had come across Susan Georgina Longfield in a University party. Susan’s father was TC Longfield, a Kent cricketer who had turned out for Bengal in seven Ranji Trophy matches between 1937-39 (and became the first to lead Bengal to a Ranji Trophy title). Much more importantly for Dexter, Susan was a stunner who later worked as a model. Dexter decided to marry her on sight.

In late 1958 he was in Paris where his wife was working as a model when Peter May’s injury hit side required his services. Dexter was flown in but was a failure. It was his Parisian clothes rather than his bat that made a stir in the country. However, he did make his first Test hundred in the New Zealand leg of the tour. The good years Returning to England, Dexter was stricken by jaundice and it was mainly Gubby Allen’s overwhelming support that got him picked for the tour of West Indies. He was slowly eased into the matches as his body recovered. Dexter hit an unbeaten 136 at Barbados and followed it up with 77 at Trinidad and 110 at Guyana. He was established as a top class player of genuine pace bowling and never looked back. In the next summer, he was appointed captain of Sussex. It was the 1961 summer that saw Dexter burst forth as superstar. At Edgbaston, with England needing 321 runs to avoid innings defeat against Australia, Dexter cracked 31 boundaries to score 180 — securing a draw.

It was his last ditch effort to get a double ton that got him stumped off Bobby Simpson in the final minutes. Ray Robinson wrote: “Few hundreds have filled such a yawning gap… Dexter so dominated a stand with (Ken) Barrington that more than two-thirds of the 161 runs came from his masterful bat before he was stumped trying to lift Simpson’s leg-break on to some distant fairway.” Spectators applaud Ted Dexter after he scored 180 against Australia on the last day of the first Test at Edgbaston © Getty Images In the famous Fourth Test at Old Trafford Dexter scored 76 in 84 minutes with 14 fours and a six before snicking Richie Benaud to Wally Grout. He left the crease with England needing 106 to win with eight wickets in hand. Two balls later Peter May was bowled round the legs, and England lost by 54 runs. Dexter became the captain of England when both May and Cowdrey made themselves unavailable for the tour to the subcontinent. England won in Pakistan, but lost the five match series in India by 2-0.

Dexter ended the tour with a career-best 205 in Karachi. Back in England, there was a curious manoeuvre by the selectors after the retirement of Peter May. Dexter led in two Tests against Pakistan , Cowdrey in the third, before Dexter again led in the final two matches. It did not matter in the long run, though, with England winning the series 4-0 and Dexter amassing 446 runs at 89.20 When England travelled to Australia in 1962-63, Dexter was appointed the full-time captain.The series ended in a draw, but Dexter demonstrated some wonderful form, equalling Patsy Hendren’s English record of 6 consecutive half centuries, and amassing 481 runs at 48.10. This included the match winning effort at Melbourne, and by the end of the tour Tom Goodman wrote, “After his thunderous Melbourne display Dexter was a magnet; the first thing people wanted to know about a team selection was: ‘Is Dexter playing?’…Batting against South Australia, he lifted the ball onto the high roof of the members stand – a tremendous hit.

Some of his drives along the ground just could not be stopped, even when they went straight to a fieldsman.” In the tour match between the MCC and an Australian XI, Dexter hit 102 in 110 minutes, with 2 sixes and 13 fours. John Woodcock of The Times wrote “I doubt if it is possible to hit a cricket ball any harder than Dexter did today. Melbourne is a huge ground and no one who hits a six here is likely to forget it. Against Veivers, an off-spinner, Dexter twice cleared the sight screen, once by a good 20 yards.” In the Test at Adelaide, Dexter hit “a six from a gigantic hit onto the roof of the stand — one of the biggest hits ever seen at the ground.” The name ‘Dexter’ made heads turn during the trip in other ways as well. Fred Trueman recalled, “Ted Dexter’s wife arrived in Australia. Ted’s wife was a looker and a model.

She is a very lovely lady, but on hearing of her arrival, when Ted faced the press, the majority of questions posed were about his wife…during an England cricket team press conference!” Yet, the tour also generated some harsh criticism of his captaincy. Australia came back from a 0-1 deficit by winning in Sydney, and it was Dexter’s obstinacy in persisting with a pace attack that proved the undoing of the English side. Trueman even volunteered to step down in favour of an extra spinner, but Dexter refused. In the end, Fred Titmus took 7 wickets in the first innings, with Dexter having to turn to Barrington as a second spinner. If David Allen or Ray Illingworth had played, it might have been a different story. The match ended on the fourth day, in the midst of rain. Had Dexter not put himself on and conceded 27 runs in 26 balls, the game could have been pushed into the morrow — and it rained all through the scheduled fifth day. While Benaud was determined to hold on to the Ashes, it seemed Dexter was content with squaring the series.

Dexter was back at his charismatic best as captain, leading from the front in that famous 1963 series against Frank Worrell’s West Indians. England lost the series, but the captain won and fluttered a lot of hearts with courageous batting and exciting cricket. In 1963 and 1964, he led Sussex to wins in the newly established Gillette Cup One Day tournament – the first two trophies in the long history of the county. However, soon he was criticised again — during the 1964 Ashes series. With Fred Titmus running through the side, and Australia reduced to 178 for seven, Dexter took off his spinner, put Trueman on and handed him the new ball. The fast bowler kept bowling short and Peter Burge hooked his way to 160. Australia took a big lead and won the Test, the only result in the five match series. Dexter did score 174 in the next Test at Old Trafford, but the Ashes was lost. End of career Dexter’s multiple interests got better of his cricket when in 1964-65 he stood down from the tour of South Africa.

He was contesting future Prime Minister Jim Callaghan’s Cardiff South East seat in the 1964 General Election.His campaign ended in a dismal defeat, and it left him free to go for the cricket tour. He ultimately travelled as the deputy of Mike Smith. He scored heavily on the trip, including 172 at Johannesburg, his ninth and final Test hundred, but he never led England again. Dexter was crushed out of serious cricket by his other pet passion — his Jaguar. Having run out of petrol in West London, he was pushing it along when he got pinned by it to a warehouse door. His leg was broken and that virtually ended his career. He tried a brief comeback, but failure in the 1968 Ashes series prompted him to give up international cricket. Dexter called it a day with 4,502 runs in 62 Tests, at an average of 47.89. With his medium-pace, he also captured 66 wickets at 34.93 apiece. The many faces of Dexter After retirement, Dexter worked as a journalist and formed his own Public Relations firm.

He spent time with his Jaguars, racy motorbikes, greyhounds and race horses. In 1970, he flew his own Aztec BPA-23 Pommies Progress to Australia to cover the Ashes series as a journalist. In 1976, when West Indies toured England , Dexter launched ‘Testkill’ an eminently forgettable crime novel co-authored with Clifford Makins, in which an Australian bowler is murdered during a Test match against England at Lord’s. In 1987, along with statisticians Gordon Vince and Rob Eastaway, Dexter was instrumental in developing a ranking system for Test cricketers. It was launched as the Deloittes Ratings, and has now gained lasting prominence as the ICC player rankings. In an article in The Cricketer, Dexter observed: “The rankings idea was my biggest contribution to cricket. Much better than being known for hitting a couple of extra-cover drives.” Dexter served as the Chairman of Selectors for England from 1989, and under his reign some curious decisions were taken.

He championed the use of four fast bowlers and no spinner at Headingley, and advocated putting Australia in, which saw the visitors pile up over 600. For the next Test he wrote an inspirational hymn for the England cricketers to sing, and called it “Onward Gower’s Soldiers”. He even appointed a team chaplain. He himself, however, remained aloof from the players and seldom visited the dressing room. At the end of the summer he joked that the Ashes defeat was because “lines of Venus were in the wrong juxtaposition”. Gower was eventually removed and Graham Gooch was made captain.Things had come a full circle for Dexter. When the Essex batsman had been appointed captain previously, Dexter had had remarked that the decision was like “being hit in the face by a dead fish”. However, the two forged a working relationship. England did have some success in the next few years, and it included reaching the final at the World Cup. But, his stint ended with a 3-0 brownwash in India, perhaps rekindling memories of his first trip as captain.

In 2001, Dexter was appointed president of the MCC, and served as chairman of the establishment’s cricket committee until 2003. Forever known as Lord Ted, he was awarded the CBE in the 2001 New Year Honours. In his late seventies, Dexter remains as full of life and speed as ever, riding fast bikes to this day and maintaining a low golf handicap. His attitude towards life is perhaps apparent from a simple facet of his website. His biography on the page comes in two versions — the short and the long. While the long one categorically states his honours and achievements, the shorter version simply reads “International Sportsman and jolly good egg.” That is how the most charismatic of all cricketers would like to be remembered. ( Arunabha Sengupta is a cricket historian and Chief Cricket Writer at CricketCountry. He writes about the history and the romance of the game, punctuated often by opinions about modern day cricket, while his post-graduate degree in statistics peeps through in occasional analytical pieces.

The author of three novels, he can be followed on Twitter at ) First Published on May 15, 2013 2:18 PM IST Last updated on May 15, 2016 2:22 PM IST TOPICS: 20 Jan, 2017 11:30 IST Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai 20 Jan, 2017 16:00 IST Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai 20 Jan, 2017 21:30 IST SuperSport Park, Centurion 22 Jan, 2017 08:50 IST | 03:20 GMT Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), Sydney 22 Jan, 2017 13:30 IST | 08:00 GMT Eden Gardens, Kolkata 22 Jan, 2017 18:00 IST | 12:30 GMT The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg 25 Jan, 2017 21:30 IST | 16:00 GMT Newlands, Cape Town 26 Jan, 

2017 08:50 IST | 03:20 GMT Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Ted Dexter (Cricketer) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News Ted Dexter Male Born May 15, 1935 Edward Ralph Dexter CBE is a former English cricketer.

An aggressive middle-order batsman of ferocious power and a right-arm medium bowler, he captained Sussex and England in the early 1960s.

related links The Lost Boys Rescued From Their Wilderness Years The Guardian (Blog) Google News - Sep 19, 2011 'Bonhams sold one at the Goodwood Revival last Friday: a lovely pale grey example, owned early in its life by Godfrey Evans, the great English wicketkeeper, before being sold to &quot;Lord Ted&quot; Dexter, who enjoyed its company for a decade' Safety Work On Gardens Bega District News Google News - Sep 15, 2011 'Mr Tegart inspected the area recently with group manager infrastructure waste and water Wayne Sartori, member of the Littleton Gardens&#39; consultative group and landscape architect <mark>Ted Dexter</mark>, and Bega Chamber of Commerce president Robert Hayson' Trott And Cook Deserving Of Accolades Esp Ncricinfo.Com Google News - Sep 13, 2011 '3 since <mark>Ted Dexter</mark> was in his pomp in the 1960s, which is quite something to say of a player who is a week shy of completing his second full international season.

In that context, it is remarkable company that Trott now finds himself keeping' Birth Of The One Day Final Esp Ncricinfo.Com Google News - Sep 07, 2011 'Sussex captain <mark>Ted Dexter</mark> took to the new form of the game like a bee to honey: the Wisden Almanack referred to his &quot;superior tactics&quot; in the final. A soft pitch restricted Sussex to 168 all out, but falling rain hampered Worcestershire even more: all' Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Ted Dexter. CHILDHOOD 1935 Birth Born on May 15, 1935. TEENAGE 1950 15 Years Old Dexter was educated at Norfolk House, Beaconsfield and Radley College, where he played in the first XI from 1950 to 1953, initially as a wicket-keeper and as captain in 1953, and was nicknamed "Lord Ted" for his aloof self-confidence.

… Read More Whilst head boy at Radley, Peter Cook, English satirist, writer and actor, was amongst the younger boys a 'big & strong' Dexter inflicted corporal punishment upon. Read Less 1953 18 Years Old He did his national service as a second lieutenant in the 11th Hussars during the Malayan Emergency in 1953-55 and was awarded the Malaya Campaign Medal. TWENTIES 1955 - 1957 2 More Events 1955 20 Years Old Dexter entered Jesus College, Cambridge in October 1955, where he played golf and rugby in addition to winning his cricket Blue and playing in the University Match in 1956, 1957 and (as captain) 1958. 1957 22 Years Old He first came to notice as a bowler taking 5/8 and 3/47 for the Gentlemen in 1957 and joined Sussex County Cricket Club in the same year.

1958 23 Years Old He made his Test debut in 1958 against New Zealand, made 52 and E.W. Swanton thought that he should have been picked for Peter May's MCC tour of Australia in 1958â59. … Read More In the end he was flown from Paris (where his wife was working as a model) to reinforce Peter May's injury-struck team. Dexter arrived in the middle of the tour, did not have time to acclimatize and although he did well in the tour matches he failed in the Tests. Continuing on the tour to New Zealand he made 141, his maiden Test century. Read Less 1959 24 Years Old After an indifferent summer against India the decision to take him to the Caribbean in 1959â60 was much criticised, but "Lord Ted" made his name thrashing the fast bowlers Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith with his powerful drives.

Show Less He hit 132 not out in the First Test, 110 in the Fourth Test, made 526 runs (65.75), topping the England batting averages, and was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1961. … Read More Few hundreds have filled such a yawning gap Dexter so dominated a stand with Barrington that more than two-thirds of the 161 runs came from his masterful bat before he was stumped trying to lift Simpson's leg-break on to some distant fairway.<br /><br /> On his return Dexter was made captain of Sussex, which he held until he retired in 1965. Read Less He had a quiet home Test season against South Africa, but in the First Test at Edgbaston in the 1961 Ashes series England started their second innings needing 321 runs to avoid an innings defeat. … Read More Dexter made 180, the biggest century for England against Australia since the war and studded with 31 cracking boundaries, but typically he was stumped in the last minutes of the match trying to hit Bobby Simpson for six so he could make a double century.

In the famous Fourth Test at Old Trafford he played a spectacular innings of 76 in 84 minutes to take England to 106 runs from victory with 9 wickets in hand and the Ashes in sight, but his dismissal set off an England collapse and the series was lost.<br /><br /> Ted was a man of moods, often caught up in theories, keen when the action was hot, seemingly uninterested when the game was dull a big-time player, one who responded to atmosphere, liked action and enjoyed the chase and gamble. Maybe this was the reason he was drawn to horse racing; a dull day stalking the covers might be enlivened for him by thoughts of how his money was faring on the 3:15 at Ascot or Goodwood. Read Less With Peter May and Colin Cowdrey declining to tour India and Pakistan in 1961â62 Dexter was chosen to lead the MCC team. … Read More With a weakened team (Fred Trueman and Brian Statham also refused to tour) Dexter beat Pakistan 1â0 but lost to India 2â0, their first series victory over England.

Read Less Show Less He made 712 Test runs (71.20) on the tour, including his highest Test score of 205 at Karachi, and another 446 runs (89.20) when Pakistan toured England in 1962 and were beaten 4â0. Peter May finally declared his retirement in 1962 and the selectors had to choose who would captain the English cricket team in Australia in 1962â63. … Read More Dexter captained England in the First and Second Tests against Pakistan, winning two big victories, but Colin Cowdrey was put in charge for the Third Test. Cowdrey had been May's affable vice-captain, had a shrewd cricket brain and was seen as his natural successor, but had inherited his cautious tactics and the Marylebone Cricket Club was crusading for "brighter cricket". Cowdrey withdrew from the final Gentleman v Players match at Lord's because of kidney stones even though he had been appointed captain, which usually indicated the selectors' intentions.

Dexter was put back in charge (and drew against Fred Trueman's Players), but found another rival in the old Sussex captain the Reverend David Sheppard, who was willing to take a sabbatical from his church mission in the East End in order to tour Australia. Sheppard made 112 for the Gentlemen and was chosen for the tour, but Dexter was confirmed as captain for the remainder of the home series and the forthcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand with Cowdrey as vice-captain. The general opinion was that England had a good batting side, but their bowling was unvaried, would struggle to dismiss Australia and that the tourists would be lucky to avoid another defeat. Read Less Show Less As captain against Frank Worrell's West Indian cricket team in England in 1963 Dexter was able to loosen up after the Ashes and they played an exciting Test series. … Read More After losing the First Test, in the Second Test at Lord's England's first innings rested heavily on Dexter's hard-hitting 70 off 75 balls when he took on the West Indian fast bowlers Charlie Griffith and Wes Hall in an innings that was remembered by all who saw it.

In the second innings Colin Cowdrey came out to bat with a broken arm with victory, defeat or a tie still possible in the last two balls, but David Allen blocked them for a draw. England levelled the series in the Third Test thanks to Dexter (4/38 and 1/7) and Fred Trueman (5/75 and 7/44), but lost the last two Tests and the series. In 1964 Dexter was again in charge in the rain-soaked 1964 Ashes series. Famously in the decisive Third Test at Headingley he removed the off-spinner Fred Titmus after he had taken three wickets to reduce Australia to 187/7, still 81 runs behind England. Dexter took the new ball and gave it to Fred Trueman who bowled a series of bouncers which Peter Burge hooked and pulled to 160, hoisting Australia to 389 and a 7 wicket win.

Although the change made sense as the new batsman Neil Hawke was fragile against fast bowling and Trueman, the greatest wicket-taker in the world at the time, was playing on his home ground Dexter was heavily criticised for a decision which obviously lost the series. In the Fourth Test Australia made 656/8, but thanks to a stand of 246 between Ken Barrington (256) and Dexter (174) England reached 611 and avoided defeat. Read Less … It was the first time that two teams had made 600 runs in an innings in a Test, and their fortunes gripped the cricketing nation, but the inevitable draw meant that Australia retained the Ashes. Read Less As some consolation Dexter led Sussex to the finals of the Gillette Cup in 1963 and 1964, and won both, the first trophies in the county's history. … Read More Above all we had Dexter's captaincy. One-day cricket was his kind of game: it was instant and aggressive and its atmosphere brought out the best in him. He really became involved, more so than in county games.

He even made a marked difference to our one day performances when he returned for a season of Sunday League games in the early 1970s. Read Less 1964 29 Years Old Dexter declared himself unavailable for the 1964â65 tour of South Africa as he contested Jim Callaghan's Cardiff South East seat in the 1964 General Election. … Read More Finding himself free to tour after his defeat he was made vice-captain to M.J.K. Smith, who won the series and continued as captain. Read Less THIRTIES 1965 30 Years Old His cricket career was virtually ended by an accident in 1965. … Read More His Jaguar car ran out of petrol in west London, and he was pushing it to safety when it pinned him to a warehouse door, breaking his leg. Read Less 1966 31 Years Old He left Sussex and played occasional Sunday games with the International Cavaliers, and made 104 when they defeated the 1966 West Indians by 7 wickets.

Show Less He returned briefly in 1968, making 203 not out in his comeback match against Kent, but failing in the 1968 Ashes series. … Read More He played Sunday League games for Sussex in 1971 and 1972.<br /><br /> If you are going to lose, you might as well lose good and proper and try to sneak a win. Read Less Dexter retired from cricket to concentrate on other interests in 1968, remaining a journalist, becoming a broadcaster and founding a PR company. … Read More In the late 1980s he joined Bob Willis to find new fast bowlers for English cricket. Sponsored by a brewery, application forms were sent to pubs to encourage young men, but most were filled in by jokers and drunks and only a few potential candidates were discovered. These were trained with javelin throwing and other exercises to strengthen their back and arm muscles, but the only bowler in the scheme who played first-class cricket had been signed up by Warwickshire before its inception. The plan therefore failed even though it generated much publicity and showed a certain amount of imagination and initiative.

Read Less FIFTIES 1987 - 1988 2 More Events 1987 52 Years Old In 1987, Dexter had the idea of developing a ranking system for Test cricketers. … Read More He developed the system with statisticians Gordon Vince and Rob Eastaway, and it was launched as the Deloittes Ratings. The Ratings steadily gained credibility, and were formally adopted by the International Cricket Council in 2003, and have become the official ICC Player Rankings. In an article in The Cricketer magazine in 2005, Dexter was quoted as saying: "The rankings idea was my biggest contribution to cricket. Much better than being known for hitting a couple of extra-cover drives."<br /><br /> In 1989 he succeeded Peter May as Chairman of the England Cricket Selectors, receiving Â£60,000 pay to compensate for his lost business interests, the first chairman to be so paid. "Dexter was soon in action, initially by way of press conferences and then, as the season developed, by lightning visits to the county grounds.

These he made, despite an operation to a heel that put him for a while on crutches, by motorbike and car, a demonstration of enthusiasm and interest that was impressive." Read Less 1988 53 Years Old After the chaos of 1988 â the Summer of Four Captains he wanted the tough Mike Gatting as captain, but was vetoed by Ossie Wheatley and his status was immediately undermined. … Read More Instead the more relaxed David Gower was appointed for the six Test series. Read Less 1989 54 Years Old Dexter tackled the role with energy and enthusiasm, but the shine soon wore off as Allan Border's 1989 Australians beat England 4â0 to regain the Ashes, their first series victory in England since 1975.

… Read More His cause was not helped by the announcement of the Mike Gatting's Rebel tour of South Africa in the middle of the series, which removed the England players Bill Athey, Kim Barnett, Ian Butcher, Chris Broad, Chris Cowdrey, Graham Dilley, Richard Ellison, John Emburey, Phil DeFreitas, Neil Foster, Bruce French, Paul Jarvis, Matthew Maynard, Tim Robinson, Greg Thomas and Alan Wells from contention. Admittedly England were already 2â0 down in the series and none of these players had shown any talent so far in the summer, but it was an indication of the division and demoralisation of English cricket. In the First Test at Headingley Dexter selected four fast bowlers and no spinners for the team, advised Gower to put Australia in to bat, only to see them made 601/7 and win by 210 runs. For the Second Test he wrote an inspirational hymn for the England cricketers to sing called "Onward Gower's Soldiers" and appointed a team chaplain, but remained aloof from the players and seldom visited the dressing room.

At the end of the summer he told the press that he couldn't think of any mistakes he had made and later joked that the "lines of Venus were in the wrong juxtaposition", which was incorrectly translated by the press as a genuine belief in New Age mysticism. The lackadaisical Gower was fired at the end of the summer and the more painstaking Graham Gooch was made captain until 1993, despite Dexter having called his previous appointment as captain as "being hit in the face by a dead fish". Read Less 1990 55 Years Old Dexter's tenancy as Chairman of Selectors coincided with a poor period in English cricket, but there were some successes; the first Test victory over the West Indies for 19 years in 1990, the victories over New Zealand and India in the run-laden summer of 1990 and the 2â2 draw with the West Indies in 1991.

Against this England lost 3â0 to Australia in 1990â91 and 4â1 in 1993, and were "brownwashed" 3â0 in India in 1992â93, when Gower was controversially dropped from the team. 1993 58 Years Old Dexter resigned under a cloud at the end of 1993, but his overhaul of the antiquated structure of English cricket and forward-looking reforms such as the change from three- to four-day county cricket had a significant impact. … Read More Richie Benaud commented that the structures he put in place "will be of great of benefit to English cricket in years to come. Equally, I'm in no doubt that others will take the credit for it." Read Less LATE ADULTHOOD 2001 66 Years Old He was also Chairman of the MCC's "England Committee", which was an administrative role and was awarded the CBE in the 2001 New Year Honours.

… Read More Dexter's power amazed everyone who had not had the joy of watching him in other innings in England and in Perth. He took chances â thank goodness for those who look on batting as a challenge! â but he made superb strokes, with his driving tremendous in power and placement. Sometimes, in fact, the placement didn't matter so much because the power sent the ball through men recognized as outstanding fielders. Once such stroke, a cover-drive, was through Thomas's legs just as he got his hands there. I felt glad that the ball went between his legs and that his hands were not behind it. Not even Jehu drove more furiously than Dexter, and a direct hit on the leg or hands might well have put this accomplished fieldsman out of action.<br /><br /> Ted Dexter was a cavalier batsman in the old amateur style and a ferocious strokemaker, but was known as being moody and mercurial. As a batsman he could leave the hands of the fielders team bruised and reddened with his powerful drives and cuts. To see "Lord Ted" thrashing the fast bowling was one of the most thrilling sights in cricket and he could make any run chase look possible.

His great fault was that he seldom gave a bowling attack due respect and got himself out with rash strokes. Though more a batsman than a bowler he could seam and swing the ball, was a useful third paceman even at Test level and was an excellent fielder anywhere. Read Less 2003 68 Years Old He also became president of the MCC, and was chairman of the MCC's cricket committee until 2003, when he was replaced by Tony Lewis. 2012 77 Years Old In December 2012, on BBC 1's Antiques Roadshow, Dexter appeared with expert Paul Atterbury who confessed to having held Dexter as a personal hero since childhood. … Read More Dexter explained that his father, Major R. M. Dexter, had been an officer with the Royal Artillery's 84th Brigade Royal Field Artillery and had lived through the Battle of the Somme. He was the only serving officer who enlisted at the start of the war to have survived until the end, and had been awarded the Military Cross, a medal which, sadly, had now been stolen. Read Less Original Authors of this text are noted on .

Dexter awarded CBE | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo Dexter awarded CBE Ted Dexter Photo © AllSport Ted Dexter, the former England captain and Chairman of Selectors known throughout the cricket world as "Lord Ted" has been awarded the CBE for the service he has given to the game. The recognition comes more than seven years after he completed his four-year stint as Chairman of Selectors. Dexter's departure followed the disappointing Ashes series of 1993, which saw Graham Gooch hand over the reins of the England captaincy to Michael Atherton. Dexter, now 65, is currently the Chairman of the MCC's cricket committee. But it was in his days as a player that Dexter really caught the eye. In a Test career that began against New Zealand at Old Trafford in 1958 and ended against Australia at The Oval ten years later, he made 4,502 runs at 47.89 in the England middle order and took 66 wickets with his medium-pace bowling.

He was one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year in 1961, and in his first-class career with Sussex and England he again averaged over 40 with the bat and under 30 with the ball. Dexter also led Sussex to the first two Gillette Cup titles when one-day cricket was in its infancy. He led England in the early 1960s, and until Nasser Hussain's team's famous victory in Karachi earlier this month was the last man to lead England to a series victory in Pakistan. Practicing at Fenner's Photo © AllSport "Lord Ted" was born in Italy and educated at Radley College and Cambridge University. His approach to the game, and especially to batting, was an aristocratic one. But his approach differed from the languid genius that was to follow from David Gower, or the effortless timing of his contemporary, Colin Cowdrey. Dexter hit the ball hard, striking fear into the hearts of anyone standing at cover or midwicket when he was batting. In fact Dexter had the sound technique and extensive range of the current Australian captain, Steve Waugh.

Some might argue that Waugh has a more obstinate streak, but there was plenty of cussedness when Dexter produced his match-saving 173 against Australia at Old Trafford in 1964. Dexter famously led from the front in 1963 at Lord's, when he made an unforgettable 70 (81 minutes, 73 balls) against the pace of the West Indies' Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith. It set England up for a memorable victory, although they were ultimately to lose the series. Dexter retired early from cricket to pursue his many other interests. He spent much of his time indulging his passion for golf and, before he returned to cricket as an administrator, he also dabbled in journalism, commentary, politics, horseracing and business. Dexter's spell England's Chairman of Selectors was far from easy. He was curiously aloof with the media and made a number of bizarre observations on why things might be going wrong. He spent much of his time at the helm alongside his former Test team-mate Mickey Stewart as England manager.

But his statistics of 21 lost Tests and only nine won out of 44 provided him with a record vastly inferior to that of his playing days. But Dexter will live in the memory as the man who retaliated when Hall and Griffith were at their most fearsome. It says as much about that famous day at Lord's and his many other swashbuckling acts with bat in hand that he now has letters after his name. © ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Question: Ted Dexter was a Cambridge blue at two sports, cricket was one what was the other
Answer: Golf